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JONATHAN  WALKER 


THE  MAN 

it 

WITHTHE  BRANDEDHAND 


An  Authentic  Sketch  of  the 
Life  and  Services  of 

CAPT.  JONATHAN  WALKER 

BY 

FRANK  EDWARD  KITTREDGE. 


“ Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time.” 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ALSO  A BRIEF  HISTORY  OF  THE 


DOUGLASS  MONUMENT. 


Copyright  1899. 

By  Frank  Edward  Kittredge. 
All  rights  reserved. 


H.  L,  Wilson  Printing  Company, 
59  State  Street,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


TO  ALL  THOSE, 

LIVING  OR  DEAD,  WHO  BY  VOICE,  PEN  OR  DEED 
HAVE  HELPED  TO  ADVANCE  THE  SACRED  CAUSE  OF  LIBERTY 

AND  TO  ALL 

LOVERS  OF  FREEDOM,  JUSTICE  AND  HUMANITY, 

THIS  LITTLE  BOOK 
IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 

The  Author. 


PREFACE. 


The  author  believes  that  this  interesting  and  im- 
portant history  concerning  the  life,  character  and 
services  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Walker,  with  which  the 
public  hitherto  has  been  unacquainted  but  which  is  here 
given  in  authentic  form,  will  prove  to  be  a valuable  and 
permanent  contribution  to  anti-slavery  literature,  and 
that  it  also  fully  explains  and  interprets  Whittier’s 
famous  and  soul-stirring  poem,  “ The  Branded  Hand.” 
Capt.  Walker  belonged  to  a noble  and  heroic  band  of 
reformers  who  have  now  passed  away,  and  it  is  fitting 
that  the  more  prominent  figures  should  be  here  grouped 
together  as  a forcible  reminder  of  the  truth,  that  high 
moral  ideals  and  undying  loyalty  to  principle  are  the 
only  permanently  abiding  forces  which  give  to  hu- 
manity its  crowning  charm. 

The  younger  generations,  especially,  should  be 
made  familiar  with  the  causes  and  events  which  led  up 
to  the  Civil  War  and  culminated  in  President  Lincoln’s 
Emancipation  Proclamation.  The  future  historian  will 
take  into  the  account  the  important  services  rendered 
to  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty  by  Capt.  Jonathan  Walker 
and  his  noble  band  of  compatriots. 

The  picture  of  “ The  Branded  Hand”  which  ap- 
pears in  this  book,  is  taken  from  an  original  daguerreo- 
type now  in  possession  of  Dr.  Vincent  Y.  Bowditch,  of 
Boston,  who  kindly  furnished  the  author  with  a faithful 
fac-simile.  Capt.  Walker  had  the  daguerreotype  taken 
soon  after  the  branding,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Bow- 
ditch’s  father. 

F.  E.  K. 

Albion,  N.  Y.,  May,  1899. 


WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON 


THE  MAN 

WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


Whittier  has  immortalized  in  verse  the  Man  with  the 
Branded  Hand.  Thousands  have  read  this  soul-stirring 
poem,  which  first  appeared  in  1846, and  have  been  moved 
to  deep  feeling  by  its  sentiment,  without  any  knowledge 
of  the  circumstances  which  called  it  out,  or  even  of  the 
name  of  the  man  to  whom  it  alludes. 

Yet  there  is  an  interesting  history  connected  with 
this  brave  man,  the  unnamed  hero  of  the  poet’s  verse, 
which  is  well  worth  recording,  and  which  the  younger 
generation,  especially,  needs  to  learn  in  order  better  to 
understand  and  more  fully  to  appreciate  the  nature  of 
the  services  rendered  to  the  cause  of  freedom  by  those 
charter  members  of  the  old  anti-slavery  society,  who, 
with  a courage  which  recognized  no  defeat,  and  with  a 
firm  reliance  on  the  everlasting  justice  of  their  princi- 
ples, pressed  forward  undismayed  amid  obloquy  and 
scorn  to  hasten  the  coming  of  humanity’s  brighter  day. 
No  complete  history  of  the  causes  which  gradually  led 
up  to  the  Civil  War  can  be  written,  without  according 
to  such  fearless  agitators  as  Jonathan  Walker  their  full 
meed  of  praise.  These  men  were  heroes  of  the  fibre  of 
which  martyrs  are  made.  The  world  owes  them  a debt 
of  gratitude  none  the  less  because  their  deeds  were 
unaccompanied  by  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war, 
but  were  performed  in  a humble  way. 

The  history  of  Captain  Jonathan  Walker’s  brave 
exploits  and  of  his  unyielding  devotion  to  the  motto  of 
his  life,  “ Ever  Save,  never  Surrender  the  Slave,”  would 


12  THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 

have  been  written  long  ago  but  for  his  modesty,  which 
shrank  from  publicity,  so  that  during  his  lifetime  he 
preferred  the  approval  of  his  own  conscience  to  the 
plaudits  of  his  fellow  men.  But  since  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1878,  the  writer,  who  was  his  personal  friend, 
was  present  at  his  death-bed,  and  spoke  the  word  of 
tribute  at  his  funeral,  has  had  access  to  his  papers  and 
correspondence,  and  from  these  and  other  sources, 
including  statements  from  his  own  lips,  is  able  to  bring 
together  many  interesting  facts  concerning  him. 

Jonathan  Walker  was  born  in  Harwich,  Mass.,  on 
Cape  Cod,  March  22,  1799,  the  same  year  that  George 
Washington  died.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  the  sandy 
farms  of  his  parents  and  grandparents.  In  1816  he  went 
to  sea,  and  in  1818  was  landed  from  a ship  on  an  island 
in  the  Indian  ocean,  eight  thousand  miles  from  home, 
where  he  spent  twenty-one  days  in  a bamboo  hut,  in 
extreme  sickness,  with  no  friend  near  him  who  could 
speak  the  English  language.  From  1818  to  1835  he 
divided  his  time  between  the  shipyard  and  the  sea.  In 
1835  he  went  to  Mexico  to  assist  in  colonizing  American 
colored  citizens  who  had  escaped  from  their  masters. 
In  1836  his  vessel  was  grounded  on  the  Mexican  coast, 
where  he  was  wounded  and  robbed  by  pirates. 

It  was  about  the  year  1832  that  the  “underground 
railroad  ” was  established,  whereby  slaves  in  the  South 
wishing  to  escape  from  bondage  were  assisted  to  a 
Canaan  of  freedom.  Captain  Jonathan  Walker  was 
one  of  the  conductors  on  this  route,  although  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  had  been  ten  years  in  the  field  previous 
to  Walker’s  appearanceupon  the  stageof  action.  For  six 
years  previous  to  1844,  he,  with  his  family,  had  resided 
in  Florida.  He  had  become  familiar  with  all  the  insti- 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


tutions  of  slavery  from  the  Ohio  river  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  One  clay  in  1844  four  intelligent  blacks,  who 
had  previously  ascertained  his  anti-slavery  proclivities, 
approached  him  with  these  words  : 

“ Captain,  did  you  ever  think  how  sweet  our  freedom 
would  be  to  us?  Do  you  know  that  if  we  had  the  privi- 
lege of  fighting  for  it  as  the  revolutionary  lathers  had, 
how  gladly  we  would  avail  ourselves  of  the  blessed 
opportunity?  ” 

Stopping  a moment  to  think,  weighing  the  risks  that 
would  attend  his  course,  he  replied  : 

“ Meet  me  at  midnight  on  the  shore  below  the  city, 
and  by  Cocks  help,  I will  do  my  best  to  assist  you  to  a 
land  of  freedom.” 

When ‘night  came  the  plan  was  consummated.  Secur- 
ing the  necessary  provisions,  they  pushed  off  in  an  open 
boat,  that  they  might  pass  Tortugas  and  Key  West  with 
less  danger  of  observation.  Carrying  the  quenchless 
torch  of  liberty  in  their  breasts,  these  men  were  willing 
to  brave  eight  hundred  miles  of  open  sea,  and  to  tra- 
verse the  weary  distance  from  Pensacola  to  the  Bahama 
Islands.  They  safely  passed  Florida  Keys,  and  hope 
grew  strong  within  each  breast.  “ Four  days  more,  my 
lads,”  said  Captain  Walker,  ‘‘and  I will  have  you  safe 
beneath  the  British  flag.”  But  though  stout  of  heart 
and  limb,  he  found  it  impossible  to  withstand  the  mid- 
day heat  of  the  tropic  climate,  and  before  the  end  of 
the  voyage  was  reached  he  pitched  forward  senseless 
into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The  four  blacks  were 
seized  with  consternation,  as  they  were  ignorant  of  the 
first  principles  of  navigation  or  the  management  of  a 
boat  in  an  open  sea  beyond  the  sight  of  land.  But  with 
hearts  full  of  gratitude  to  him  who  had  risked  his  life 


1 4 THE  man  with  the  branded  hand. 

to  rescue  them  from  their  thraldom,  and  whom  they 
supposed  to  be  dead,  they  placed  him  in  the  most  pro- 
tected part  of  the  boat,  and  throwing  a piece  of  canvas 
over  him,  abandoned  themselves  to  their  fate,  drifting 
helplessly  and  hopelessly  wherever  a capricious  wind 
or  tide  might  carry  them.  In  this  condition  they  were 
found  by  a United  States  revenue  cutter,  which  had 
been  sent  in  pursuit. 

The  slaves  were  returned  to  ’their  masters,  and  Cap- 
tain Walker  was  seized  and  ironed,  his  vessel  confis- 
cated and  he  imprisoned  in  Florida,  on  the  charge  of 
assisting  negroes  to  gain  their  freedom,  lde  remained 
in  prison,  in  solitary  confinement,  for  one  year,  when  he 
was  brought  before  the  United  States  court  for  trial. 

Among  his  papers,  I find  the  following  interesting 
document.  After  minutely  describing  seven  negro 
slaves,  and  offering  a reward  of  $1,700  for  their  appre- 
hension and  delivery  at  Pensacola,  it  continues  as 
follows  : 

“Jonathan  Walker  is  from  or  about  Cape  Cod  or  Nantucket, 
where  he  has  a wife  and  several  children,  from  whom  he  is  said 
to  have  been  absent  about  two  years,  without  any  apparent 
necessity.  He  is  a man  of  large  frame,  about  six  feet  high,  with 
dark  hair  and  dark  complexion,  a suspicious  countenance,  slouchy 
person,  stooping  shoulders,  and  a swinging,  rolling  gait, — is 
lame  in  one  arm  from  a gunshot  wound,  as  he  says,  received 
from  robbers  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  where  he  was  trading  some 
years  ago  in  a small  sloop.  He  came  to  this  city  about  three 
weeks  since  from  sea  in  a whaleboat,  he  said,  from  Mobile.  He 
seems  to  have  had  no  reasonable  or  proper  business  here.  His 
boat  is  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  long,  with  plenty  of  beam, 
clinker  built,  and  very  light.  When  she  came  here  she.  had 
three  oars  and  was  schooner  rigged,  with  fore  and  main  sprit- 
sails — hull  and  spars  painted  green — the  inside  of  the  boat  lead 
color.  He  hired  board  and  lodging  of  a colored  woman,  whose 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


15 


lot  runs  to  the  beach,  and  hauled  up  his  boat  to  be  worked  upon 
under  the  shade  of  trees  in  the  lot.  For  several  days  he  em. 
ployed  himself  in  making  an  additional  sail  for  his  boat,  which 
was  either  a very  large  jib  or  square  sail,  two  additional  oars 
and  two  paddles,  lockers  or  water-tight  boxes  to  fit  in  the  bow 
and  stern,  and  under  thwarts.  He  laid  in  on  Wednesday  last, 
nearly  two  barrels  of  bread,  about  120  pounds  of  pork  and  bacon, 
a keg  of  molasses,  a cheese  and  some  other  articles  of  mess 
stores,  a compass  and  a binnacle  lantern,  and  a barrel  and  a 
demijohn  of  water.  On  Thursday,  his  boat  being  provisioned 
and  equipped  as  above,  he  set  sail,  but  instead  of  going  to  sea, 
stood  up  the  bay.  Before  sunrise,  on  Friday  morning,  he  was 
seen  close  under  the  land  inside  of  Santa  Rosa  Island,  abreast 
of  Town  Point,  by  two  fishermen  from  the  Navy  Yard,  who  asked 
him  where  he  was  going.  He  said  to  Mobile,  but  inquired  where 
he  could  get  water,  and  was  told  near  by  on  Santa  Rosa  by  the 
sand  hills.  He  immediately  set  sail  and  steered  towards  the 
place  indicated  ; but  soon  altered  his  course  to  nearly  the  oppo- 
site direction,  and  when  last  seen  by  the  fishermen,  about  an 
hour  afterwards,  was  standing  up  the  bay.  On  Saturday  he  was 
seen  beating  down  the  bay,  and  that  night  the  negroes  disap- 
peared ; and  neither  Walker,  nor  the  boat,  nor  the  negroes  have 
been  seen  here  since — excepting  that  Silas  and  Harry  were  seen 
and  recognized  by  some  servants  very  late  (say  11  o’clock)  that 
night,  passing  down  a street  towards  the  Navy  Yard,  and  Leon- 
ard was  seen  by  Monroe  and  Jacob  in  his  quarters,  at  the  yard, 
about  two  hours  before  day  on  Sunday  morning.  The  slaves 
have  taken  most  of  their  clothes,  and  largely  of  their  winter 
clothing,  as  if  going  to  a Northern  climate.  From  these  and 
other  circumstances,  the  belief  exists  that  said  Jonathan  Walker 
has  carried  these  slaves  off  in  his  boat.  And  therefore,  for  his 
apprehension  and  conviction  of  said  offence,  the  subscribers  will 
pay  a further  reward  of  One  Thousand  Dollars.” 

R.  C.  Caldwell, 

Geo.  Willis,  by 
Jos.  Quigles,  Agent. 


Pensacola,  June  25,  1844. 


i6 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


The  Pensacola  Gazette , of  July  20th  following,  said 
that  the  United  States  steamer  General  Taylor , Lieut. 
Com.  E.  Farrand,  arrived  there  on  Thursday  evening 
from  Key  West,  bringing  as  a prisoner  Jonathan 
Walker,  charged  with  having  recently  abducted  the 
seven  negro  slaves  belonging  to  Messrs.  Willis  & Cald- 
well, under  a commitment  from  the  civil  authority,  and 
on  being  taken  before  the  United  States  District  Judge, 
the  court  being  in  session,  was  immediately  remanded 
to  prison,  on  failing  to  give  the  necessary  bail,  to  await 
his  trial  at  the  next  term  of  the  court.  When  the  pris- 
oner landed  on  the  wharf,  the  crowd  was  immense;  and 
as  he  was  escorted  to  the  court  house  by  the  deputy 
marshal,  the  crowd  thronged  the  streets  and  sidewalks, 
and  the  court  room  was  filled  to  overflowing  by  a highly 
excited  mass  of  people.”  The  Gazette  adds  that  “The 
judge  had  determined  to  hold  a special  court  for  the 
trial  of  Walker  in  a few  days.  No  doubt  his  punish- 
ment will  be  severe.” 

In  a letter  to  his  wife,  after  his  capture,  Walker  writes 
as  follows  :■ 

“Pensacola,  July  29,  1844. 

“ Dear  Wife  ami  Children  : 

“I  am  privileged  by  the  mercy  of  God  the  Father,  of  writing 
to  you  once  more,  but  not  in  the  situation  I should  choose. 
About  the  time  of  my  last  letter  1 had  arranged  to  take  some 
passengers  to  Nassau,  New  Providence,  a British  island,  east- 
ward from  Cape  Florida.  On  the  23d  of  June  f started,  with 
seven  colored  people,  though  quite  unwell,  as  I had  been  for 
two  days.  On  the  sixth  day  out,  I did  not  expect  to  live  another 
twenty-four  hours  ; my  disease  being  intermittent  fever  and 
internal  canker, — and  such  hot  weather  I never  in  my  life  saw 
before.  We  proceeded  down  the  coast  till  July  8th,  when  we 
were  overhauled  by  a wrecker,  the  sloop  Catharine,  from  Key 
West,  and  by  force  taken  to  that  port.  Then  I was  carried 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


17 


before  a Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  thence  to  a jail,  where  I was 
kept  four  days.  Then  I was  put  down  into  the  hold  of  a steam- 
boat, among  rubbish  and  filth,  the  heat  being  extreme,  placed 
in  heavy  irons,  both  hands  and  feet,  and'  kept  six  days,  in  which 
time  the  vessel  steamed  to  Pensacola.  There  I was  taken  to 
court,  and  from  thence  again  to  jail,  where  I now  am,  secured 
to  a large  ring-bolt  by  a chain  made  of  half-inch  iron,  with  a 
shackle  around  my  ankle,  which  weighs  five  pounds. 

“Jane,  what  will  become  of  you  and  the  children?  I have 
lost  all  of  the  little  I had  here,  and  am  confident  that  at  this 
time  you  and  the  children  are  in  want.  Send  to  Fall  River  and 
get  the  little  money  due  there,  and  do  as  well  as  you  can.  The 
Lord  Jesus  has  been  abundantly  good  to  me  in  my  afflictions  ; 
and  1 am  sure  he  will  accompany  me  through,  for  I cannot  let 
Him  go.  Dear  wife  and  children,  trust  in  Him  to  aid  you.” 

To  his  aged  parents  he  wrote  : 

“ O my  dear  old  father  and  mother,  do  not  worry  about  me. 
I am  in  good  spirits,  and  shall  weather  the  storm.” 

But  what  a storm  it  proved  to  be!  and  through  what 
a baptism  of  hre  he  was  called  to  pass!  When  cap- 
tured, he  was  too  ill  to  walk  without  the  support  of  two 
strong  men,  and  even  on  his  way  to  prison  he  would 
have  been  lynched  by  the  frenzied  crowd  but  for  the 
persistent  determination  of  the  sheriff  and  his  deputy, 
who,  with  drawn  revolvers,  kept  the  infuriated  mob  at 
bay.  Finally,  after  months  of  imprisonment  in  a cell 
without  a chair,  bed  or  table,  and  with  only  the  hard, 
foul  and  damp  floor  as  a resting  place,  with  twenty 
pounds  of  iron  chain  and  shackle  riveted  on  his  weak 
and  aching  limbs,  the  trial  came,  and  with  it  the  sen- 
tence. And  this  was  the  sentence  of  the  court  : That 
he  should  be  taken  from  the  prison,  placed  one  hour  in 
the  pillory  on  the  public  highway  and  pelted  with  rot- 
ten eggs.  From  thence  he  should  be  returned  to  his 


TIIE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


cell,  to  the  bars  of  which  his  right  hand  should  be 
lashed,  in  the  palm  of  which  should  be  burned  with  a 
red-hot  branding  iron  a large  double  S,  signifying  slave 
stealer.  In  addition  he  was  sentenced  to  one  year  in 
prison  for  each  slave,  seven  in  all,  six  hundred  dollars 
fine  for  each  slave,  and  all  the  costs  of  the  trial. 

When  the  bad  eggs  were  thrown,  a boy  in  the  crowd 
cried  “Shame!  ” but  one  of  the  rabble  rushed  up  to  the 
pillory  and  tore  off  a bandage  which  had  been  put  on  to 
protect  the  face  of  the  victim;  and  the  boy  was  arrested 
and  fined. 

The  trial  of  Jonathan  Walker  took  place  in  a United 
States  court;  and  the  marshal  for  the  Florida  district 
at  the  time  was  Ebenezer  Dorr,  a native  of  Maine. 

The  branding  iron  was  made  for  the  occasion.  The 
first  blacksmith  approached  manfully  refused.  “ No- 
sir,”  said  he,  “-I  make  branding  irons  to  brand  horses, 
mules  and  cattle  with;  but  to  burn  into  the  flesh  of  a 
fellow  man, — by  the  living  God  I will  not.”  Another 
blacksmith  was  found  to  make  the  iron  but  refused  his 
forge  to  heat  it  when  it  came  to  be  used.  He  swore 
there  was  but  one  fire  in  the  universe  fit  to  heat  an  iron 
for  such  a use.  But  at  length  the  savage  instrument  of 
torture  was  brought  to  a white  heat  and  sent  hissing 
into  the  flesh  of  a hand  which  never  harmed  a human 
being,  but  was  ever  ready  to  succor  the  needy,  the  friend- 
less and  the  outcast. 

The  letters  S.  S.  Captain  Walker  himself  used  to  call 
“the  seal,  the  coat-of-arms,  of  the  United  States,”  and 
Whittier  in  his  poem  has  made  them  mean  “ Slave 
Savior.” 

How  great  a change  time  has  wrought  in  a half  cen- 
tury! The  slave  pen  and  auction  block  have  disap- 
peared, men  and  women  are  no  longer  chattels  to  be 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 


20 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


bartered  because  they  chanced  to  be  born  black  ; and 
nowhere  on  American  soil  presses  the  foot  of  a single 
slave.  What  a contrast  to  the  time  when  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  was  dragged  through  the  streets  of 
Boston  with  a rope  about  his  neck,  Parker  Pillsbury 
rotten-egged  in  Rochester,  Wendell  Phillips  mobbed  in 
Cincinnati,  Lovejoy  shot  in  his  own  door  in  Alton,  Jon- 
athan Walker  branded  in  Pensacola,  and  John  Brown 
hanged  at  Harper’s  Ferry! 

I make  the  following  extract  from  one  of  Mr.  Walk- 
er’s letters  to  his  granddaughter,  descriptive  of  his  suf- 
ferings while  in  Florida: 

“ The  United  States  marshal  for  the  Western  District  of  Flor- 
ida, an  old  acquaintance  of  mine  from  the  State  of  Maine,  took 
me  in  charge  and  provided  me  with  snug  quarters,  heavy  irons 
and  a hard  floor  to  lie  and  sit  upon  in  the  city  jail,  for  which  he 
charged  me  twenty-five  dollars,  rent,  etc.  It  was  in  front  of  the 
court  house  on  the  west  side  of  Polifex  street,  directly  up  from 
the  wharf,  where  your  grandfather  was  fastened  in  the  U.  S. 
pillory  for  one  hour,  and  pelted  with  rotten  eggs,  and  then 
taken  into  the  court  house  and  branded  with  the  U.  S.  branding 
iron,  after  passing  through  the  form  of  a trial  in  a United  States 
court  four  months  after  my  incarceration  in  Pensacola  jail. 

“ Had  any  of  my  friends  seen  me  in  the  first  few  weeks  of  my 
imprisonment,  they  would  have  hardly  recognized  me  ; and  in 
fact  I could  hardly  recognize  myself.  My  sickness  and  the 
severe  treatment  I received  reduced  me  very  near  to  a skeleton, 
Many  a time  have  I grasped  round  my  leg  above  the  knee  joint, 
over  my  trousers,  with  one  hand,  so  as  to  meet  thumb  and  fin- 
ger. The  hungry  and  thirsty  mosquitoes  tried  hard  to  draw  a 
little  support  from  the  emaciated  form  of  the  prisoner,  to  but 
little  purpose.  Their  bills  were  harmless,  so  far  as  pain  was 
concerned,  nor  did  they  get  much  reward  for  their  labor.  Not- 
withstanding the  eleven  long  and  tedious  months  that  rolled 
around  and  found  me  chained  up  in  solitary  confinement,  joyful 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


21 


expressions  of  sympathy  met  me  there  from  various  parts,  and 
directly  around  me,  and  when  your  grandfather  left  that  abode 
of  suffering  and  disgrace,  he  left  a respectable  man  even  then, 
for  it  was  abundantly  evident  that  the  act  for  which  he  was  pun- 
ished was  performed  under  the  best  of  motives,  viz  : to  deliver 
the  oppressed  from  the  hands  of  the  oppressor." 

From  1845  to  1S49  Jonathan  Walker  devoted  his  time 
to  lecturing  on  anti-slavery  subjects,  in  various  parts  of 
the  country.  In  1863  he  removed  to  Michigan,  and 
settled  at  Lake  Harbor,  Muskegon  County,  on  a small 
fruit  farm,  on  the  shore  ©f  Lake  Michigan,  where  by 
dint  of  hard  work  he  was  able  to  make  a comfortable 
living  for  himself  and  wife,  until  the  autumn  of  1877, 
when  his  health  failed,  and  he  gradually  declined,  the 
best  medical  skill  seeming  to  be  of  no  avail.  On  the 
30th  of  April,  1878,  he  peacefully  passed  away  at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  He  was  buried  in 
Evergreen  cemetery  at  Muskegon. 

Mr.  Walker  loved  to  tell,  during  his  sickness,  how 
much  faith  he  had  put  in  the  “bank  of  humanity,”  and 
had  never  been  cheated  nor  deceived.  He  found  so 
much  congenial  work  to  do  through  all  the  years  of  his 
eventful  life,  in  helping  the  poor  and  suffering  around 
him,  that  his  great  sympathetic  heart,  which  was  as 
tender  as  a woman’s,  went  out  in  love  to  all  his  fellow- 
men.  Like  Governor  Andrew,  “ He  never  hated  a man 
because  he  was  poor,  or  because  he  was  ignorant,  or 
because  he  was  black.”  Lie  told  me  he  never  enter- 
tained hard  feelings  even  toward  the  slaveholders,  or 
those  who  used  him  so  harshly. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Walker’s  death,  on  learning  that  his 
relatives  were  unable  to  erect  a suitable  monument  to 
his  memory,  his  old  friend,  Rev.  Photius  Fisk,  chaplain 
in  the  United  States  navy,  living  in  Boston,  generously 


PHOTIUS  FISK. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


offered  to  provide  one  at  his  own  expense.  In  due  time 
the  monument  arrived  safely  at  Muskegon,  and  on  the 
first  day  of  August,  1878, — the  Emancipation  day  of  the 
West  Indies, — the  unveiling  ceremonies  took  place,  in 
the  presence  of  a vast  concourse  of  people. 

The  monument  stands  ten  feet  high  above  the  foun- 
dation, which  show's  five  inches  above  the  surface.  The 
material  is  Hallowell  granite,  from  Maine.  It  has  the 
followfing  inscription  on  the  south  face: 

“This  Monument  is  Erected 
to  the  Memory  of 
Capt.  Jonathan  Walker, 

By  his  Anti-Slaver}'  Friend, 

Photius  Fisk, 

Chaplain  of  the 
* United  States  Navy.” 

On  the  eastern  face  of  the  shaft  is  the  following: 


On  the  upper  base,  on  the  eastern  side  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 

“Jonathan  Walker, 

Born  in  Harwich,  Mass., 

March  22,  1799. 

Died  in  Lake  Harbor,  Muskegon 
Co.,  Mich.,  April  30,  1878.” 


THE  WALKER  MONUMENT, 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


25 


On  the  north  side  is  the  following  quotation  from 
Whittier’s  poem  : 

“Then  lift  that  manly  right  hand, 

Bold  ploughman  of  the  wave  ; 

Its  branded  palm  shall  prophesy 
Salvation  to  the  slave. 

Hold  up  its  fire-wrought  language, 

That  whoso  reads  may  feel 
His  heart  swell  strong  within  him, 

His  sinews  changed  to  steel.” 


The  orator  on  the  occasion  of  the  unveiling  ceremo- 
nies was  Parker  Pillsbury.  His  address  was  a masterly 
effort.  It  was  confidently  expected  that  both  Whittier 
and  Frederick  Douglass  would  be  present,  but  it  proved 
impossible.  Whittier  sent  the  following  letter: 

“ Oak  Hill,  Danvers,  6 mo.  21,  1878. 

“ Dear  Friend  : 

“Immediately  on  receiving  thy  letter  announcing  Capt.  W.’s 
death,  I sent  it  to  Garrison,  with  the  suggestion  that  we  should 
take  measures  for  a monument.  He  came  out  to  see  me,  and 
informed  me  that  Rev.  Photius  Fisk,  late  chaplain  in  the  U.  S. 
Navy,  had  volunteered  to  give  the  monument  himself.  I pre- 
sume it  will  not  be  ready  so  soon  as  the  4th  of  July.  I don’t 
think  I could  write  anything  without  repeating  my  former  poem 
on  the  same  subject.  I think  Garrison  would  write  something 
if  requested.  He  tells  me  that  the  monument  will  be  a costly 
and  handsome  one.  He  has  suggested  the  inscription  upon  it. 
I hope  the  occasion  of  its  erection  will  be  one  of  great  interest 
in  your  place. 

Thine  Truly, 


“John  G.  Whittier.” 


PARKER  PILLSBURY, 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


2 7 


Mr.  Douglass’s  letter  was  as  follows: 

“ United  States  Marshal’s  Office, 
“Washington,  D.  C.,  July  15,  1878. 

“ My  dear  Mr.  Fisk  : 

“ I am  reminded  by  a letter  from  our  valued  friend,  Parker 
Pillsbury,  that  I have  not  yet  written  an  answer  to  your  letter 
inviting  me  to  be  present  in  Muskegon,  Mich.,  on  the  first  of 
August,  and  assist  at  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  which  you 
have  nobly  caused  to  be  erected  over  the  dust  of  the  late  Jona- 
than Walker.  I deeply  regret  that  my  duties  and  appointments 
will  compel  me  to  decline  your  esteemed  invitation. 

“Yes,  I knew  Jonathan  Walker,  and  knew  him  well  ; knew 
him  to  love  him  and  to  honor  him  as  a true  man,  a friend  to 
humanity,  a brave  but  noiseless  lover  of  liberty,  not  only  for 
himself  but  for  all  men  ; one  who  possessed  the  qualities  of  a 
hero  and  martyr,  and  was  ready  to  take  any  risks  to  his  own 
safety  and  personal  ease  to  save  his  fellow-men  from  slavery. 

“ It  is  meet  and  right  that  one  who  was  such  as  he  was  should 
have  his  grave  marked  as  you  propose.  His  name  deserves 
remembrance  and  should  be  mentioned  with  those  of  John 
Brown,  Charles  T.  Torrey,  William  L.  Chaplin,  Elijah  P.  Love- 
joy,  Thompson,  Work  and  Barr,  Calvin  Fairbanks,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  other  notable  men  who  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
the  slave  power. 

“Jonathan  Walker  is  not  less  entitled  to  grateful  memory 
than  the  most  honored  of  them  all.  He  was  one  who  felt  satis- 
fied with  the  applause  of  his  own  soul.  What  he  attempted 
was  not  intended  to  attract  public  notice. 

“ It  was  on  the  free,  dashing  billows  of  the  Atlantic,  when 
the  voices  of  nature  spoke  to  his  soul  with  the  grandest  empha- 
sis of  love  and  truth  ; and  responsive  to  those  voices,  as  well  as 
to  those  of  his  own  heart,  he  welcomed  the  panting  fugitives 
from  slavery  to  the  safety  of  his  own  deck, — though  in  doing  so 
he  exposed  himself  to  stocks,  prison,  branding  irons,  and  it 
might  have  been  to  death. 

“ I well  remember  the  sensation  produced  by  the  exhibition 


28 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


of  his  branded  hand.  It  was  one  of  the  few  atrocities  of  slavery 
that  roused  the  justice  and  humanity  of  the  North  to  a death 
struggle  with  slavery.  Looking  into  his  simple,  honest  face,  it 
was  easy  to  see  that  on  such  a countenance  as  his  no  trace  of 
infamy  could  be  made  by  stocks,  stripes  or  branding  irons.  ‘ S. 
S. ’ meant  at  the  South,  slave  stealer,  but  was  read  by  the  North 
and  all  civilized  men  everywhere  as  Slave  Savior.  His  example 
of  self-sacrifice  nerved  us  all  to  more  heroic  endeavor  in  behalf 
of  the  slave. 

“ My  dear  sir,  I feel  it  a great  deprivation  that  I cannot  be 
personally  present  with  you  on  the  first  of  August  and  assist  in 
the  ceremonies  in  honorable  memory  of  true-hearted  Jonathan 
Walker  ; but  I shall  be  with  you  in  spirit  and  purpose. 

“ Very  Truly  Yours, 

“Fred’k  Douglass.” 

Photius  Fisk,  the  donor  of  the  Walker  monument, 
was  a native  Greek,  his  original  name  being  Photius 
Ivavascles.  He  was  born  on  the  island  of  Flylas,  in  the 
Grecian  Archipelago,  and  was  one  of  a family  of  five 
children,  the  whole  family,  excepting  himself,  having 
been  swept  off  by  a plague  within  a single  week. 

He  was  brought  up  and  educated  under  the  care  of 
Rev.  Pliny  Fisk,  an  American  missionary,  who  changed 
his  name  to  Fisk.  After  studying  in  various  institutions 
in  this  country,  he  was  ordained  as  a Congregationalist 
minister,  and  preached  for  a time  in  Vermont.  In  1842- 
aided  by  such  men  as  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Joshua 
R.  Giddings,  he  received  the  appointment  of  chaplain 
in  the  United  States  navy.  The  Walker  monument  was 
the  fourth  of  the  kind  which  his  generous  hand  reared 
during  his  lifetime  to  the  memory  of  those  brave  and 
true-hearted  men  who  suffered  and  sacrificed  in  order 
to  liberate  their  fellow-men  from  the  cruel  bonds  of 
American  slavery. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


29 


In  analyzing  the  character  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Walker, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  its  most  prominent  trait 
was  a rugged  loyalty  to  principle,  which  nothing  could 
swerve  from  the  true  orbit  of  his  life.  As  the  mariners’ 
needle  would  not  point  so  unvaryingly  to  the  North  but 
for  some  wonderful  attraction  centered  there,  so  the 
polar  star  of  duty  guided  Jonathan  Walker  through 
every  night  of  discouragement  and  danger,  when  hope 
had  well-nigh  fled,  and  led  him  into  a large  place,  and 
finally  bestowed  upon  him  the  palm  of  victory.  In  every 
stress  and  storm  of  life  he  was  brave  and  fearless,  stand- 
ing like  an  unswaying  Gibraltar  against  the  wild  en- 
croachments of  the  surging  tides  of  injustice  and  cruelty, 
but  in  wonted  days  he  was  vine  and  flower.  His  dispo- 
sition was  sunny,  and  children  were  drawn  to  him  as  by 
some  invisible  magnet. 

No  one  ever  appealed  to  him  for  aid  or  sympathy  and 
received  it  not,  for  kindness  was  his  natural  poise,  and 
to  every  wailing  cry  from  breaking  hearts  for  deliver- 
ance from  the  cruel  bonds  of  oppression,  he  always 
gave  the  listening  ear  and  the  helping  hand.  Approach- 
able and  courteous  at  all  times,  to  even  the  humblest 
human  being,  he  was  truly  a kingly  man  with  a kingly 
soul,  for  as  Emerson  grandly  says,  “ the  great  man  is 
always  willing  to  be  little.” 

There  is  a pretty  legend  of  an  old  man’s  wondrous 
masterpiece,  which  avers  that  a century  ago  in  the  North 
of  Europe  stood  an  old  cathedral,  upon  one  of  the  arches 
of  which  was  a sculptured  face  of  wondrous  beauty.  It 
was  long  hidden,  until  one  day  the  sun’s  light  striking 
through  a slanted  window  revealed  its  matchless  feat- 
ures. And  ever  after,  year  by  year,  upon  the  days  when 
for  a brief  hour  it  was  thus  illuminated,  crowds  came 
and  waited  eagerly  to  catch  but  a glimpse  of  that  won- 


30  THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 

derful  face.  It  had  a strange  and  fascinating  history. 

When  the  cathedral  was  being  built  an  old  man, 
broken  with  the  weight  of  years  and  cares,  came  and 
besought  the  architect  to  let  him  work  upon  it.  Out  of 
pity  for  his  age,  and  fearful  lest  his  failing  sight  and 
trembling  touch  might  mar  some  fair  design,  the  master 
set  him  to  work  in  the  vaulted 1 roof.  One  day  they 
found  the  old  man  asleep  in  death,  the  tools  of  his  craft 
laid  in  order  beside  him,  the  cunning  of  his  right  hand 
gone,  his  face  upturned  to  this  other  marvellous  face, 
which  he  himself  had  wrought  there, — the  face  of  one 
whom  he  had  loved  and  lost  in  his  youthful  years.  And 
when  the  artists,  and  the  sculptors,  and  the  workmen 
from  all  parts  of  the  cathedral  came  and  looked  upon 
that  placid  face,  they  said  : “This,  indeed,  is  the  grand- 
est work  of  all,  for  love  hath  wrought  it.” 

It  was  in  some  such  spirit  as  this  that  Jonathan  Walker 
wrought,  not  indeed  on  cathedral  arches,  but  upon  the 
living  temple  of  humanity.  His  pitying  heart  melted  at 
the  sight  of  his  fellow-men  doomed  to  a life  of  hopeless 
bondage,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  Almighty 
had  created  them  of  darker  hue  than  himself. 

He  believed  if  the  glorious  sun  of  liberty  could  shine 
through  the  windows  of  the  bondman’s  soul  with  its 
illuminating  power,  that  some  of  the  hidden  divineness 
of  human  nature  would  sooner  or  later  be  revealed. 
So  year  after  year  he  wrought,  like  the  old  sculptor  of 
the  legend,  and  though  despised  and  rejected  of  the 
builders,  to-day  he,  and  his  faithful  compeers,  have 
become  the  head  of  the  corner,  and  their  labors  will  be 
more  and  more  appreciated  as  their  valorous  deeds  and 
patriotic  services  are  often  recounted.  The  rising  gen- 
eration, especially,  needs  to  learn  by  heart,  through 
what  thorny  paths,  and  with  what  bleeding  feet,  the 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


31 


pioneers  of  freedom  have  pressed  on,  turning  defeats 
into  victories,  and  all  culminating  in  that  glorious  day 
when  the  shackles  fell  from  four  million  slaves. 

From  Jonathan  Walker  to  Abraham  Lincoln  what 
wonderful  changes  were  wrought  in  the  condition  of  the 
colored  race  ! And  who,  to-day,  would  turn  back  the 
dial  of  the  years  and  restore  the  old  order?  The  auc- 
tion block  has  been  transformed  into  the  school-house, 
and  the  slave-pen  into  the  college,  and  upon  the  remold- 
ing influences  of  education  and  religion  must  rest  the 
highest  hopes  and  aspirations  of  this  strangely  unfor- 
tunate people. 

In  the  living  and  dying  of  such  men  as  Garrison,  and 
Walker,  and  Douglass,  and  Lincoln,  and  all  true 
reformers,  the  world  is  made  the  richer,  and  their 
achievements  serve  as  beacon  lights  to  guide  humanity 
onward  and  upward  to  still  loftier  moral  heights.  Bar- 
tholdi’s colossal  statue  of  Liberty  enlightening  the 
World,  as  it  stands  on  its  lofty  pedestal  at  the  entrance 
of  New  York  harbor,  is  an  object  of  admiration  to  all 
beholders,  its  flaming  torch  kindling  ever  anew  the  fires 
of  liberty  in  the  human  breast.  So  the  branded  hand  of 
Jonathan  Walker,  immortalized  in  verse  and  sculptured 
on  enduring  granite,  is  a silent  but  eloquent  reminder 
of  the  world’s  progress  in  justice  and  humanity. 


JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


*>  'J 


33 


THE  BRANDED  HAND. 

BY  JOHN  G.  WHITTIER  IN  1 846. 

Welcome  home  again,  brave  seaman  ! with  thy  thoughtful  brow 
and  gray, 

And  the  old  heroic  spirit  of  our  earlier,  better  day, — 

With  that  front  of  calm  endurance,  on  whose  steady  nerve  in  vain 
Pressed  the  iron  of  the  prison,  smote  the  fiery  shafts  of  pain  ! 

Is  the  tyrant’s  brand  upon  thee  ? Did  the  brutal  cravens  aim 
To  make  God’s  truth  thy  falsehood,  His  holiest  work  thy  shame? 
When,  all  blood-quenched,  from  the  torture  the  iron  was  with- 
drawn, 

How  laughed  their  evil  angel  the  baffled  fools  to  scorn  ! 

7 hey  change  to  wrong  the  duty  which  God  hath  written  out 
On  the  great  heart  of  humanity,  too  legible  for  doubt  ! 

7 hey,  the  loathsome  moral  lepers,  blotched  from  footsole  up  to 
crown, 

Give  to  shame  what  God  hath  given  unto  honor  and  renown  ! 

Why,  that  brand  is  highest  honor  ! than  its  traces  never  yet 
Upon  old  armorial  hatchments  was  a prouder  blazon  set  ; 

And  thy  unborn  generations,  as  they  tread  our  rocky  strand, 
Shall  tell  with  pride  the  story  of  their  father’s  Branded  Hand. 

As  the  Templar  home  was  welcome,  bearing  back  from  Syrian 
wars 

The  scars  of  Arab  lances  and  of  Paynim  scymi'tars. 

The  pallor  of  the  prison  and  the  shackle’s  crimson  span, 

So  we  meet  thee,  so  we  greet  thee,  truest  friend  of  God  and 
man  ! 

He  suffered  for  the  ransom  of  the  dear  Redeemer’s  grave, 

Thou  for  His  living  presence  in  the  bound  and  bleeding  slave  ; 
He  for  a soil  no  longer  by  the  feet  of  angel  trod, 

Thou  for  the  true  Shechinah,  the  present  home  of  God  ! 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


34 


For  while  the  jurist,  sitting  with  the  slave-whip  o’er  him  swung, 
From  the  tortured  truths  of  freedom  the  lie  of  slavery  wrung, 
And  the  solemn  priest  of  Moloch,  on  each  God-deserted  shrine, 
Broke  the  bondman’s  heart  for  bread,  poured  the  bondman’s 
blood  for  wine, 

While  the  multitude  in  blindness  to  a far-off  Savior  knelt, 

And  spurned,  the  while  the  temple  where  a present  Savior  dwelt: 
Thou  beheld’st  him  in  the  task-field,  in  the  prison  shadows  dim, 
And  thy  mercy  to  the  bondman,  it  was  mercy  unto  him  ! 

In  thy  lone  and  long  night-watches,  sky  above  and  wave  below, 
Thou  didst  learn  a higher  wisdom  than  the  babbling  school-men 
know. 

God’s  stars  and  silence  taught  thee,  as  His  angels  only  can, 
That  the  one  sole  sacred  thing  beneath  the  cope  of  heaven  is 
Man  ! 

That  he  who  treads  profanely  on  the  scrolls  of  law  and  creed, 

In  the  depth  of  God’s  great  goodness  may  find  mercy  in  his  need, 
But  woe  to  him  who  crushes  the  soul  with  chain  and  rod, 

And  herds  with  lower  natures  the  awful  form  of  God  ! 

Then  lift  that  manly  right  hand,  bold  ploughman  of  the  wave  ! 
Its  branded  palm  shall  prophesy,  “salvation  to  the  slave  ! ” 
Hold  up  its  fire-wrought  language,  that  whoso  reads  may  feel 
His  heart  swell  strong  within  him,  his  sinews  change  to  steel. 

Hold  it  up  before  our  sunshine,  up  against  our  Northern  air, — 
Ho  ! men  of  Massachusetts  for  the  love  of  God  look  there  ! 
Take  it  henceforth  for  your  standard,  like  the  Bruce’s  heart  of 
yore, 

In  the  dark  strife  closing  round  ye,  let  that  hand  be  seen  before! 

And  the  tyrants  of  the  slave-land  shall  tremble  at  that  sign, 
When  it  points  its  finger  Southward  along  the  Puritan  line; 

Woe  to  the  State-gorged  leeches  and  the  church’s  locust  band 
When  they  look  from  slavery’s  ramparts  on  the  coming  of  that 
hand  ! 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS, 


DOUGLASS  MONUMENT 
AT  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


34 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


THE  DOUGLASS  HONUMENT. 


The  20th  of  November,  1894,  J-  W.  Thompson,  in 
Eureka  Lodge,  No.  36,  F.  and  A.  M.,  suggested  that  a 
committee  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
monument  in  memory  of  the  Afro-American  soldiers 
and  sailors  who  had  fallen  during  the  Civil  War.  Mr. 
Thompson  was  appointed  chairman,  and  with  charac- 
teristic pride  in  the  achievements  of  his  compatriots, 
the  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass  favored  the  project  in 
the  following  letter  : 


Anacostia,  D.  C.,  December  3,  1894. 

Mr.  J.  IV.  Thompson. 

My  Dear  Sir — I am  more  than  pleased  with  the  patriotic 
purpose  to  erect  in  Rochester  a monument  in  honor  of  the 
colored  soldiers  who,  under  great  discouragements,  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  national  peril,  volunteered  to  go  to  the  front  and 
fight  for  their  country — when  assured  in  advance  that  neither 
by  our  own  Government  nor  that  of  the  Confederates  would 
they  be  accorded  the  equal  rights  of  peace  or  of  war.  The 
colored  soldier  fought  with  a halter  about  his  neck,  but  he 
fought  all  the  same.  I shall  be  proud  if  I shall  live  to  see  the 
proposed  monument  erected  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  where  the 
best  years  of  my  life  were  spent  in  the  service  of  our  people — 
and  which  to  this  day  seems  like  my  home. 

Yours  very  truly, 
FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


35 


Some  time  during  the  month  of  December,  Hon. 
C.  S.  Baker,  Hon.  H.  S.  Greenleaf,  and  J.  W.  Thompson 
met  in  Mr.  Baker’s  office  and  decided  to  erect  a shaft 
in  memory  of  the  colored  soldiers  and  sailors  and  place 
upon  the  top  of  it  a bronze  statue  of  Hon.  Frederick 
Douglass.  The  project  of  the  above  monument  met 
with  some  opposition.  J.  W.  Thompson,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  notwithstanding,  continued  with  the 
work  of  raising  funds.  The  death  of  Mr.  Douglass 
occurred  at  Cedar  Hill,  Anacostia,  D.  C.,  Feb.  20,  1895. 
The  following  day  Chairman  Thompson  made  the 
announcement  that  the  monument  would  be  erected  in 
memory  of  the  fallen  leader,  Frederick  Douglass.  The 
contract  was  let  to  the  Smith  Granite  Co.,  Westerly, 
R.  I.  The  bronze  statue,  eight  feet  high,  stands  on  a 
pedestal  nine  feet  high,  made  of  the  finest  Westerly 
gray  granite.  Total  height,  seventeen  feet,  massive 
and  dignified — a splendid  likeness  of  the  deceased 
patriot.  On  the  four  sides  of  the  granite  pedestal  are 
bronze  tablets  on  which  appear  these  inscriptions: 

On  the  east  side  of  the  shaft  is  the  following,  taken  from  a speech  made 
by  Douglass  on  the  famous  Dred  Scott  decision  in  1857  : 

“ I know  no  soil  better  adapted  to  the  growth  of  reform  than  American 
soil.  I know  no  country  where  the  conditions  for  effecting  great  changes  in 
the  settled  order  of  things,  for  the  development  of  right  ideas  of  liberty  and 
humanity,  are  more  favorable  than  here  in  the  United  States.” 

West  side  is  the  following  extract  from  a speech  on  West  Indian  emanci- 
pation, delivered  at  Canandaigua,  August  4,  1857: 

“ Men  do  not  live  by  bread  alone  ; so  with  nations,  they  are  not  saved 
by  art,  but  by  honesty;  not  by  the  gilded  splendors  of  wealth,  but  by  the 
hidden  treasure  of  manly  virtue  ; not  by  the  multitudinous  gratifications  of 
the  flesh,  but  by  the  celestial  guidance  of  the  spirit.” 

North  side  are  these  quotations  from  the  speeches  of  Douglass ; 

“The  best  defense  of  free  American  institutions  is  in  the  hearts  of  the 
American  people  themselves.” 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


36 

“ One  with  God  is  a majority.” 

“ I know  of  no  rights  of  race  superior  to  the  rights  of  humanity.” 

South  side : 

“Frederick  Douglass.” 

The  sculptor  was  Sidney  W.  Edwards.  The  corner 
stone  was  laid  by  the  M.  W.  G.  Lodge  of  F.  and  A.  M. 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  July  20,  1898. 

The  Monument  was  unveiled  Friday,  June  9,  1899, 
the  impressive  ceremonies  being  witnessed  by  a vast 
multitude  of  people,  coming  from  all  the  neighboring 
towns.  Governor  Theodore  Roosevelt  lent  his  pres- 
ence to  the  eventful  occasion,  and  made  the  principal 
speech. 

The  Mayor  of  the  city,  Hon.  George  E.  Warner, 
extended  cordial  words  of  welcome  to  all.  Mr.  John 
W.  Thompson  acted  as  chairman,  introduced  the  speak- 
ers, and  read  letters  from  President  McKinley  and 
others. 

Hon.  Wm.  A.  Sutherland  delivered  an  eloquent 
eulogy  on  Douglass,  couched  in  most  classic  phrase. 
Miss  Gertrude  Aleath,  little  daughter  of  Chairman 
Thompson,  at  a given  signal,  pulled  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  from  the  monument,  revealing  the  large  bronze 
figure  of  Douglass.  An  impressive  prayer  was  offered 
by  Rev.  Alexander  Walters,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  A.  M. 
E.  Church,  and  the  singing  was  done  by  a chorus  of 
thirty  voices,  who  rendered  very  effectively  a song 
entitled,  “ His  Name  Shall  Live  Forever.”  A tribute 
to  Frederick  Douglass  by  the  G.  A.  R.  was  read  by 
Sherman  D.  Richardson.  The  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Rev.  J.  J.  Adams,  pastor  of  Zion  A.  M.  E. 
Church,  Rochester.  The  members  of  the  Douglass 
family  present  were  Mrs.  Helen  Douglass,  widow  of 
Frederick  Douglass;  Mrs.  R.  Douglass  Sprague,  and 
the  sons,  Charles  R.  and  Louis  H.  Douglass. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


37 


Letters  were  received  from  President  McKinley, 
John  C.  Dancy,  Gov.  Wolcott  of  Massachusetts,  Ex- 
Governor  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  of  Louisiana,  Rev.  Dr.  C.G. 
Ames,  M.  D.  Conway,  E.  P.  Powell,  J.  Thomas  Fortune 
and  others. 

The  following  condensed  biography  will  be  of 
general  interest  : 

Frederick  Douglass  was  born  in  Tuckahoe,  Talbot 
Co.,  Maryland,  February,  1817.  His  mother  was  a 
negro  slave  named  Harriet,  and  his  father  a white  man. 
He  was  owned  by  Col.  Edward  Lloyd,  and  took  his 
master’s  name. 

He  secretly  learned  to  read  and  write,  was  employed 
in  a ship-yard  in  Baltimore,  and  September  3,  1838,  he 
fled  from  slavery  and  went  to  New  Bedford,  Mass., 
where  he  changed  his  name  from  Lloyd  to  Douglass, 
and  married,  supporting  himself  and  family  by  day 
labor  on  the  docks  and  in  shops.  In  1841  he  became 
agent  of  the  Massachusetts  Anti-Slavery  Society.  In 
1845  he  published  an  autobiography,  and  soon  after 
went  to  Europe  and  lectured  on  slavery.  In  1847  he 
began  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  the  publication  of  the  Noyth 
Star , the  title  of  which  was  afterwards  changed  to 
Frederick  Douglass  s Paper.  After  slavery  was  abolished 
his  paper  was  discontinued, and  in  1870  he  became  editor 
of  the  New  National  Era  in  Washington.  In  1871  he 
was  secretary  to  the  Commission  to  Santo  Domingo, 
later  Minister  to  Hayti,  and  United  States  Marshal  for 
the  District  of  Columbia,  Washington,  receiving  his 
appointment  from  President  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

He  died  February  20,  1895,  at  Cedar  Hill,  Ana- 
costia,  D.  C.,  after  attending  a meeting  of  reformers 
that  day.  He  lies  buried  in  beautiful  Mt.  Hope 
Cemetery  at  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


38 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


JOHN  W.  THOMPSON, 


Chairman  of  the  Douglass  Monument  Committee. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Rochester,  N.  Y. , Oct. 
24,  1883,  and  accepted  a responsible  position  at  The  Powers,  which 
he  fills  with  marked  ability  and  popularity.  He  entered  imme- 
diately into  the  affairs  of  the  people  of  the  city,  and  by  his 
splendid  executive  ability,  his  untiring  energy  and  activity,  has 
done  more  than  any  other  man  to  advance  and  promote  the 
welfare  and  best  interests  of  his  race  in  that  community.  There 
has  been  no  public  movement  or  enterprise  started  for  social, 
literary,  commercial  or  political  advancement  of  his  people 
which  he  has  not  supported  with  unflagging  zeal.  He  has  always 
been  active  in  politics,  and  has  held  many  honorary  appoint- 
ments. He  is  at  present  a member  of  the  Republican  County 
Committee,  which  position  he  has  held  for  many  years  with 
satisfaction  to  his  race.  Mr.  Thompson  was  a great  admirer  of 
the  late  Frederick  Douglass,  and  enjoyed  a large  measure  of 
that  great  emancipator’s  confidence.  He  early  conceived  the 
idea  of  erecting  to  his  memory  a suitable  memorial,  and  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  project  he  has 
labored  in  and  out  of  season,  often  alone,  and  always  in  the 
face  of  opposition,  for  its  completion.  It  is  a magnificent  trib- 
ute to  the  memory  of  Douglass,  and  reflects  lasting  credit  on 
the  labor,  energy  and  sacrifice  of  Mr.  Thompson,  who  is  most 
highly  esteemed  by  the  best  people  of  Rochester,  and,  being 
quite  a young  man,  his  sphere  of  usefulness  may  yet  develop 
broader  and  better  plans  for  the  advancement  of  his  race. 


J.  W.  THOMPSON 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


45 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  On  the  22d  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1862,  a proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  containing  among  other  things  the  following, 
to-wit  : 

That,  On  the  1st  da}7  of  Januarj7,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1863, 
all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  any  designated 
part  of  a State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  shall  be  thenceforward  and  forever 
free,  and  the  executive  government  of  the  United  States,  in- 
cluding the  military  and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize 
and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act 
or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts 
they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

That,  The  executive  will  on  the  1st  day  of  January  aforesaid, 
by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any, 
in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the 
people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto 
at  elections  wherein  a majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such 
State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong 
countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that 
such  State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not  then  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  commander-in- 
chief of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a fit  and 
necessary  war  measure  for  repressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this 
1st  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1863,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly  proclaim  for  the  full 
period  of  one  hundred  days  from  the  day  of  the  first  above-men- 
tioned order,  and  designate  as  the  States  and  parts  of  States 
wherein  the  people  thereof  respectively  are  this  day  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States  the  following,  to-wit  : Arkansas, 
Texas,  Louisiana,  except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaque- 
mines, Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension, 
Assumption,  Terrebonne,  Lafourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin  and 
Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  Mississippi, 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BRANDED  HAND. 


46 


Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and 
Virginia,  except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated  as  West 
Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley,  Accomac,  North- 
ampton, Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Ann  and  Norfolk, 
including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  and  which 
excepted  parts  are,  for  the  present,  left  precisely  as  if  this  proc- 
lamation were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I 
do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said 
designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and  henceforward  shall 
be,  free  ; and  that  the  executive  government  of  the  United 
States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will 
recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free, 
to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary  self-defense, 
and  I recommend  to  them,  that  in  all  cases  when  allowed,  they 
labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

And  I further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons  of 
suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the  armed  service  of  the 
United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and  other 
places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  war- 
ranted by  the  Constitution,  upon  military  necessity,  I invoke  the 
considerate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of 
Almighty  God. 

In  witness  whereof,  I have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed.  Done 

[l.  s.]  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  1st  day  of  January  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1863,  and  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America  the  eighty-seventh. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 

By  the  President  : 

William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  work  of  emancipation  in  the  United  States  was  completed 
at  the  adoption  of  Article  XIII.  of  the  amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution, and  the  reconstruction  of  the  States  in  rebellion,  upon 
that  basis. 


